Bullying Laws in Arizona

In the anti bullying laws in Arizona, terms that are predominantly used in reference to bullying include “harassment, intimidation, and bullying.” Bullying covers both physical and cyber-bullying. As of the moment, Arizona only has State Laws but no Model Policy yet. House Bill 2415 was finally passed in the spring of 2011 that initiates the modification of the existing policy that covers bullying.

Important Points in the Anti Bullying Laws in Arizona (House Bill 2415):

The 2011 bullying laws in Arizona superseded the 2005 bullying law of the state. The new house bill is said to be a better version of the first bullying law. The new bill increases the accountability of school officials. It also imposes stricter measures on how individual schools should address different bullying issues whether offline or online. The revision also helps schools lessen the risks of having lawsuits from parents and children victimized by acts of bullying. Under the new legislation, schools are now expected to:

Provide forms that can be used to report any incident of bullying and its forms to the needed party – students, parents, educators, et.al.

Report incidents of bullying, harassment, intimidation, in writing. Schools should also provide descriptions of disciplinary actions for employees who were not able to report suspected incidents.

Provide students with written copy of protections, rights, and support services to any victims (or alleged) of bullying.

Secure documentations of bullying incidents for at least six years.

Form procedures that encourage the protection of health and safety of bullied students who are harmed in any way.

Forbid the use of school computers, forums, networks and mailing lists to do any forms of cyber-bullying.

House Bill 2415 clearly identifies the terms used for bullying. In this way, students are now more conscious on the behavior that they display. The bill also encourages school personnel to always be on the lookout for potential behaviors of students that may result to bullying.

Healthy Workplace Bill in Arizona

Enactment for Healthy Workplace Bill has not yet started in the state of Arizona. People are encouraged to contact the State Coordinator and sign the petition for this bill to be passed by state legislatures. 22 have already signed for the petition. The state needs 78 more signatures.